WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been given permission to marry his partner, lawyer Stella Moris, in prison<\/p>\n
ByThe Associated Press<\/p>\n
November 12, 2021, 10:36 AM<\/p>\n
2 min read<\/p>\n
LONDON -- WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been granted permission to marry his partner, Stella Moris, in prison, British authorities say.<\/p>\n
Assange has been held in Londons high-security Belmarsh Prison since 2019 as he fights a U.S. attempt to extradite him on espionage charges.<\/p>\n
The couple began their relationship during Assange's seven years living in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London to avoid extradition to Sweden on unrelated sex offenses allegations. Assange and Moris, a South Africa-born lawyer, have two young sons: Gabriel, 4, and Max, 2.<\/p>\n
I am relieved that reason prevailed, and I hope there will be no further interference with our marriage, Moris said.<\/p>\n
In January, a judge refused a U.S. request to extradite Assange, but he remains in prison while a higher court considers the U.S. government's appeal.<\/p>\n
Assange and Moris made their relationship public in April 2020 and had applied to prison authorities for permission to wed.<\/p>\n
They threatened legal action against the prison governor and Justice Secretary Dominic Raab, accusing them of trying to prevent the marriage from taking place.<\/p>\n
Mr. Assanges application was received, considered and processed in the usual way by the prison governor, as for any other prisoner, the Prison Service said Thursday.<\/p>\n
No date has yet been set for the wedding.<\/p>\n
U.S. prosecutors have indicted Assange on 17 espionage charges and one charge of computer misuse over WikiLeaks publication of thousands of leaked military and diplomatic documents a decade ago.<\/p>\n
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